Leave last word on AFSPA to wisdom of security agencies: Jitender Singh

Union minister of state Jitender Singh on Saturday said any decision on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) cannot be taken on political considerations and should be left to the judgment of the security agencies.

Union minister of state Jitender Singh on Saturday said any decision on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) cannot be taken on political considerations and should be left to the judgment of the security agencies.

Singh, who had flown from Delhi to Jammu following twin militant attacks in two days in Kathua and Samba, said: "This is an occasion for us to do some re-thinking and rise above the political lines and learn that any decisions regarding sensitive issues, like AFSPA, to maintain it or withdraw it, to continue it or discontinue it, has to be based on the wisdom and inputs of the security agencies instead of getting tempted to political considerations."

He was enquiring about the health of a pilgrim, who was injured in the terror attack, at government medical college, Jammu.

On a query as to whether it was a serious intelligence failure on the part of the government with two simultaneous attacks taking place in two days, the minister said the authorities concerned were there to look into it.

Chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had reaffirmed that his government would work towards the revocation of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir. "We will work for gradual process of revocation of AFSPA. We will keep working for it," Mufti said in his one-hour speech in the assembly while winding up discussion on the governor's address.

Condemning the twin terror attacks, the Union minister said the Central government was fully equipped to deal any kind of situation. He also paid homage to soldiers who lost their lives in the terror attacks.

The minister also appealed to Union home minister Rajnath Singh to see if the amount of compensation to the family members of the martyred soldiers could be increased.